


Honey, I'm Good

by girlalmightiess



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Be gentle, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, its not finished yet??? there will be updates, like official actually posting, okay this is my first thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-04-09 22:46:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4367171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlalmightiess/pseuds/girlalmightiess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry/Louis AU; Louis is a bar tender and Harry is an aspiring actor working hard at two jobs to save money. Harry pretends to be Louis' boyfriend after seeing Louis being harassed at the club they visit regularly. Based off of Andy Grammar's song "Honey, I'm Good".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

_“These long, long legs are damn near everywhere.”_

 

   It was hard, working at a gas station. Definitely didn’t sound like a hard job, but Harry was always exhausted after work and his part-time job as a cleaning boy at the diner down the street wasn’t ever sunshine and daisies either. And it seemed like every time he was finally saving up there was something else that needed to be paid for. His bank account was virtually static, and there was no way he was going to get anywhere he wanted to be like that. Half the time, he felt like he was basically doomed to living in Holmes Chapel for the rest of his life.

 

   He walked into his house, nearly tripping over a pair of his boots he’d left in the doorway, groaning and kicking off the shoes he was wearing. He stumbled into his bedroom, his body sore from stocking the coolers at the gas station. The bed felt good, the cold sheets against his skin with his cheek pressed into the pillow. Suddenly, he heard his phone buzz on his dresser across the room, another groan passing his lips.

 

   “Noooooo,” He whined, figuring it was probably Zayn, and his dark haired friend was probably going to be disappointed when Harry informed him that he wasn’t up for hanging out yet another night. He managed to push himself into an upright position, pouting at nothing as he walked over to his dresser and snatching his cell phone off of it only to fall backwards on his bed. He was right, one missed call from Zayn.

 

   “It would be rude not to call him back, at least,” Harry thought out loud to himself, pursing his lips before pressing the tiny phone icon next to his friend’s name and putting the phone up to his ear.

 

    _“It was a small club,”_ Zayn had said to him. _“You’ll love it, I promise,”_ He’d said. _“Please? You never go anywhere with me anymore,”_ And Harry kept saying no, he really tried. He really just wanted to play some Mario Kart by himself and call it a night, but here he was, walking into the flashing lights of the club with his best friend.

 

   Now, Harry hated being such a downer, but he’d just been so physically and emotionally drained lately it was driving him up a wall and he really had been craving peace and quiet. But of course, Zayn knew just what to say to stir him up now he couldn’t even find the other boy the the pool off people dancing and bumping around him.

 

   “Zayn?” He called, furrowing his brow.

 

   No Zayn to the left. No Zayn to the right. Maybe if he pushed his way to the bar, he’d find his friend there. Harry slipped through two people who were clearly trying to dance with each other, and he had been more focused on getting to the bar than being courteous and he’d actually felt kinda bad about it. So, naturally, he blurted out a small apology as he continued to push through the crowd. He was pretty sure someone slapped his ass, and someone else sneezed in his general direction and one girl tried to jump on his back but her friend had held her away. Which, of course, Harry was thankful for since he wasn’t in the mood for partying right about now. He finally got to the bar, practically flinging himself into one of the barstools and laying his head down on his arms.

 

   “So I said to him---” It sounded like someone just smacked their hand against someone’s chest, causing Harry’s head to perk up, “--I said, ‘Don’t you mean batman?!’, I did! I said it,” The voice rang out, higher pitched and raspy and strangely soothing. Harry looked around for the source, laying his eyes on the bartender who’s hand was pressed firmly against a taller brunette boy’s chest behind the bar who Harry could only assume was a  waiter. They looked like they were talking to the blonde boy sitting at the bar, because he was nearly in stitches laughing at the tiny bartender’s story.

 

   “Aye, you,” The bartender echoed, pointing at Harry. He looked around, pointing to his own chest.

 

   “Me?” Harry mouthed, and the bartender didn’t hesitate to walk right over and nod at him. His name tag said LOUIS on it in big letters.

 

   “Yes, _you!_ No-- the bloke sittin’ next to ya! There’s no one else at the bar, silly,” The bartender said with an obnoxious laugh, but it wasn’t really obnoxious to Harry. It was cute, he was cute. Harry smirked, his dimples drilling holes into his cheeks. “You look a little lonely, mate. May I suggest a Jello shot? They’re pretty damn good, aren’t they, Liam?” He said, turning to get the second opinion from the waiter who he was laughing with minutes ago. The blonde boy a few seats away moved a few seats closer, and Liam the waiter nodded.

 

   “Oh-- no, I’ve gotta drive my fri--” Harry started, but he was cut off by a hand smacking down on his shoulder. He was startled, but when he turned his head he only saw Zayn.

 

   “C’mon, Harry, we’ll just take a cab home. I’ll get us some Jello shots. You’re twenty one, live a little, eh? You already said you didn’t have to work tomorrow,” Zayn insisted, sitting down next to Harry. Harry looked over to the bartender who smiled at him, and the waiter just shrugged.

 

  “I--” Harry started, almost giving in. “No, no, I don’t want to leave my car here over night,” He insisted, putting his hands up. Zayn looked a little disappointed, but he wasn’t going to push it any further. “I’m sorry, maybe-- tomorrow, or something,” He assured them.

 

   When Harry finally left, Zayn turned back to the bartender, the waiter, and his blonde giggly friend. It had taken him a bit of convincing to get Harry to go without him. He was worried, which Zayn completely understood. He’d insisted several times that he’d be fine taking a cab home and that he’d done it before. Sometimes it was like Harry forgot that Zayn still went out without him sometimes. This wasn’t their early days anymore, two ten year olds attached at the hip. Either way, He’d convinced him to go and now he was here by himself. He didn’t totally think that through, since the more he sat at the bar and thought about it the less he felt like being there that night. He was just about to leave when he heard Louis the bartender say something to him, and he looked up at him. “Huh?”

 

   “Your curly haired friend, what’s his name?” Louis asked, Niall giggling and nudging Louis’ arm from across the bar. Liam was busy cleaning a glass, and Zayn couldn’t help but notice his biceps. Jesus, honestly, what was he doing being a waiter? He’d be an amazing body guard. He could probably sit on that guy’s back while he did one-armed push ups. _“Hello?”_ A voice brought him back to earth again. “Your friend, what’s his name?” Louis repeated.

 

   “Oh, right. Harry, ‘is name is Harry,” Zayn finally answered.

 

   “You gonna bring ‘em ‘round more often?” Louis asked.

 

   “Hmm??” Zayn hummed. He’d gotten a little distracted again, but this time Niall had definitely noticed. He was giving him the ‘I totally saw that’ face.

 

   “Are. You. Going. To. Bring. Harry. Back?” Louis asked again, chopping his sentence up. “Goodness, d’you need a hearing aid, mate?” He laughed, and Zayn couldn’t help but smile at the boy-- he was obnoxious but he definitely had that ‘light up a room’ quality that Zayn couldn’t ignore.

 

   “Oh, I mean--” Zayn was about to give a genuine answer, but he couldn’t stop a smirk from forming on his lips. “--Why, you interested?” He asked a bit smugly, figuring that he was definitely interested in his friend. Louis blushed a little, but his facial expression didn’t change and he kept himself cool. Which was mildly disappointing, since Zayn had been hoping for a bit of a reaction from the tiny brunette lad.

 

  “Of course I am, in fact, I’ll give him my number next time I see him. How about that?” He said, his voice almost challenging. Zayn wasn’t aware this was a challenge, but he figured he could have a bit of fun with this. Besides, he had the feeling he was about to make a few friends right now.

 

   “I triple dog dare you to call him _cutie_ when you do it,” Zayn mumbled his challenge, wiggling his eyebrows at the bartender who crossed his arms over his chest, trying to look intimidating but Zayn couldn’t get the mental image of a small kitten out of his head.

 

   “Deal, winner gets five dollars, what’s done is done, I don’t make the rules,” Louis said, shrugging and picking up Niall’s empty glass to hand to Liam to clean. Zayn couldn’t help but laugh-- there was no way in hell he was gonna give this guy five bucks for calling his friend a cutie but the boy’s feisty attitude was amusing and Zayn felt like there was a very real possibility that he was playing match-maker right now.

 

 


	2. You look good, I will not lie.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry this chapter is shorter than the first and also that it took me so long to write it. Oops!

_“You look good, I will not lie.”_

__  
  
  


   It had been a whole day, a whole day since Louis had met Harry at the nightclub, and he couldn’t get that boy out of his head. What a glorious mop of curls, who gave him the right? He pouted to himself as he walked, Liam and Niall giving each other glances before Niall actually spoke up. “Y’alright there, Louis?” He asked, practically bouncing to keep up with Liam’s long strides and Louis’ quick shuffle.

 

   “I doubt he’s even going to show up again. Honestly. And if he doesn’t show, that means my bet with Zayn is voided, right?” He talked, almost to himself as they walked into the diner. He was very quick to tell the hostess they were getting a table for three so they could be sat down quickly. “Either way, I’m not giving him money because if I do see him, I’m going to tell him he’s a cutie. What does Zayn take me for, a big baby? Cutie is nothing, I’ve said worse,” The shorter boy rambled, and Liam and Niall continued to exchange amused glances.

 

   “Sounds like you’re pretty interested in Zayn’s friend if you ask me,” Liam spoke up, giving Louis a bit of a grin. Louis rested his cheek in his hand once they were all sitting at the table, Louis on one side and his two friends on the other. He rolled his eyes at Liam, very dramatically as he really needed Liam to see that he was rolling his eyes.

 

   “Like you weren’t making eyes at Zayn himself, come on, you dork,” He said, tossing a sugar packet from the table at Liam and watching it his his cheek. Liam pouted.

 

   “Throwing things, Louis, what are we, five?” He asked, but he couldn’t help but crack a small smile. Niall, of course, laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard, nothing new there. Pretty soon Louis was throwing sugar packets at Niall, threatening to squirt ketchup at the giggling blonde while Liam tried to reel them back in because, “Come on, boys, we’re at a restaurant,” when the waiter finally appeared.

 

   “Sorry ‘bout that,” A familiar voice rang out, “I’m your waiter, Harry, and--” The waiter paused, looking up from his notepad finally at the table in front of him. “Oh-- hello there, boys,” He said with a small smile, his dimples peeking out ever so slightly and Louis could have gotten whiplash from how quickly he looked up. His smile only grew at that, and he didn’t even look at Liam or Niall. He was far too focused on Louis for all of that.

 

   “Cutie,” Louis said, freezing up a little. Which-- fuck, that was weird, he never usually did that. The word just blurted from his mouth. Smooth. “I mean-- Hey, cutie, I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again this soon,” He said, sitting up a little and folding his hands on the table in front of him. Harry laughed a bit, but it seemed to have been a good recovery from his previous nervous blurt. Actually, it didn’t even seem like Harry noticed, and he looked way more nervous than Louis had  sounded at first. His little dimples were showing, his smile was bashful and his cheeks were tinted red only in the slightest. Louis was so caught up in noting all of the boy’s features that he didn’t hear him ask for his order. “Hmm…” He trailed off, staring up at Harry. Niall burst into laughter, and Louis was snapped back into reality. “What?” He half-snapped at niall, flicking his crumpled up straw wrapper at him. “Stop laughing, you dork,” He huffed playfully.

 

   “Order your food, googly-eyes,” Niall giggled, poking Louis’ hand. Louis rolled his eyes, but turned his attention back to Harry the waiter, who seemed pretty decently amused by the three boys and their little playful bickering and teasing.

 

   “Okay, okay, um, I’m getting the BLT. With fries,” He answered quickly, watching the waiter write it down. Niall ordered after him, followed by Liam. Harry finished writing down their orders, looking up at them and raising his eyebrows. He repeated the orders back to them for clarification, informing them that he’d be back soon and suddenly, almost before Louis could blink, the curly haired boy was gone and they were all sat at the table alone, a bit quiet before Niall started to laugh again.

 

   “You _so_ have a crush,” He giggled, his laughter contagious which bugged Louis a bit because he didn’t want to laugh, but here he was, laughing anyway.

 

   “Oh, shush, blondie,” He tried to frown, but the smiles of both of his friends were making him grin anyways. The whole meal, Louis chatted with Harry when he appeared at the table, and Niall and Liam noticed how, even from across the restaurant, Harry and Louis were giving small glances to each other. When the check came, Louis decided to go out on a limb again. He reached for the slip of paper, his fingers touching against Harry’s. “Thanks, babe,” He grinned. Then, an idea popped into his head. He was going to write his number on the receipt. After all the check business was taken care of, Harry came back to return Louis’ card and have him sign his receipt. Under the tip and signature, Louis’ scrawled his number and handed the paper back to Harry. “Thanks, love, see ya around,” He said, standing up quickly and giving Liam and Niall a look that said “please stand up now.”

 

   “What? What happened, why’d we leave so fast?” Liam asked, slightly concerned but he figured out what was going on when he saw the nervous look on his friend’s face. “Come on, mate, tell me! Is it about Harry?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow while Niall listened patiently.

  
   “I wrote my number on the receipt,” Louis informed them finally, very matter-of-factly as they walked back to his car. 


	3. “But if you ask where I'm staying tonight,”

   Harry had never stared at his phone for so long in his life. He’d also never kept any receipts from work, he was technically supposed to put them away for the restaurant’s paperwork. But this was a different situation and he’d had to keep it. The bartender from before-- Louis-- had written his number down on it along with a little smiley face that had X’s for eyes. Which Harry didn’t really get, was that supposed to be a dead smiley face? Either way, this cute guy had given him his number and he didn’t know what to do with it. Text him? Call him? Add him on snapchat? Not like people haven’t hit on Harry before, because they have. It was just that this time he was _actually_ interested. He was interested in everything; his sassy personality, his loudness, his fluffy hair, his tattoos, his smile. It was all just so lovely and Harry was a little bit nervous about screwing things up.

 

_KNOCK KNOCK._

   Harry was startled up from his laying position on the bed in his room, letting out a small yelp and nearly dropping his phone on the floor. It must have been Zayn, he never really had people visit him without asking first via text or call. He ran his fingers through his curls, pulling on some pajama pants so he wasn’t opening the door in nothing but boxers. Not that Zayn would even really care that much anyways, but Harry put them on anyways. Plus they had little Pokeballs all over them and that was adorable as hell. His feet shuffled against the carpet as he made his way to the front door, swinging it open to find Zayn standing there as he’d assumed. The other boy grinned at him, walking inside and starting to talk immediately. Harry didn’t see him get so excited like this often, so it threw him off a little bit. “That club, Harry, you know the one I took you to? You’d go again if I asked, right?” He asked quickly.

 

   “Um-- yeah, sure, but I have to work tomorrow morning until six,” He said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly before shutting the door to his house. He watched Zayn flop on the couch and kick his feet up on his ratty old coffee table, and normally he’d joke with him about his feet smelling or something but instead he just joined him. “When were you planning on going…?” He asked his friend, turning his head to look at him and admire the fact that his best friend looked like a gucci model or something.

 

   “We can go after you get off work. But like, listen-- I gotta see that waiter again,” He sighed heavily, and quite frankly Harry had never seen Zayn’s face and voice get that soft before. It was kinda cute. Harry tried to remember what waiter he was talking about-- must have been Louis’ friend at the bar. Not the blonde one, he didn’t work there. The darker haired one with the arrow tattoos, Harry was assuming. Liam was his name, or something like that. He was normally better at remembering these things, but all of his memory was a bit clouded by the cute bartender.

 

   “Uh, you mean the one with the arrow tattoos?” He asked, his eyebrows raised. Zayn looked over to him, his expression still a little excited and nervous and Harry started to wonder if maybe Zayn was into this guy. Which was funny, since he was into the bartender and they were friends. But maybe that was only funny to Harry.

 

   “Yeah, him. Liam. I-- I don’t know what the fuck is happening, Harry, but he keeps going through my head. I didn’t even think I was _into_ guys. But-- he’s so hot?” Zayn mumbled, reaching over to put a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “We have to go back, I need to talk to him.” He insisted, and Harry gave him some nods of approval. Plus, this way he could just talk to Louis and have an excuse for being there instead of feeling strange about texting him. Though, either way he was going to be a little shy.

 

   “Right, right. I can do that. I’ll meet you there when I get off of work, then?”

 

   Harry almost completely forgot about going back to that club with Zayn, and he was ready to drop his things on the couch and go flop down on his bed for a nap. But before he even went through his front door, his phone beeped and a text message appeared from his friend. He got inside his house, checking the message and giving a sigh. Harry was tired from work, but he did say he’d meet him at the club and he wasn’t just going to bail out last minute. He changed his clothes quickly, getting right back into his car and texting Zayn that he was on his way before he took off again, heading to the club. It was only seven o’clock by the time he got there, so he decided to stop for a coffee first. Zayn had texted him that he wasn’t even at the club yet anyways, so it was no big deal. About an hour of scrolling through apps on his phone, Harry got back into his car and made his way to the club where Louis worked. Louis. His hands started to sweat a little bit, and he’d wondered if Louis was upset that he never texted him.

 

   Walking into the club was awkward. There was already a ton of people, despite the fact that it was only around eight pm, and the music was loud. Harry decided he’d probably enjoy it more if he wasn’t so tired from work, and honestly the coffee wasn’t really helping as much as he had hoped that it would. Zayn hadn’t texted him yet, so Harry decided to look for Louis. Once he finally pushed his way to the bar, however, Louis wasn’t there. He saw Liam standing behind the bare speaking with Niall, so he walked over to them quickly. Both of the boys looked up at him, and they looked slightly less than pleased to see him, and he couldn’t help but guess it was because Louis had informed them that Harry hadn’t texted him or called him at all.

 

   “Uh, hey,” Harry said, giving a half-hearted smile and a small wave. Niall perked up a little bit, looking Harry up and down.

 

   “What’re you doin’ here…?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow as he leaned against the bar. “Louis isn’t workin’ if thas’ who y’tryin’ ta’ find,” He said, and his Irish accent seemed a lot more pronounced than last time he’d heard him speak. Although, maybe that was just him noticing it more without Louis there to distract all of his attention.  

 

   “He’s not? I-- does he work tonight at all?” Harry asked, watching Niall flicker his eyes over to Liam for an answer to his question.

 

   “Um--” Liam started, holding a finger up to them both before sliding a drink to a customer and looking back. “--Sorry ‘bout that-- um-- no, he doesn’t, but he actually texted me about an hour ago and said he was coming to get a drink, so he could be in here somewhere,” Liam informed him. Harry thanked him a few times, feeling too awkward to bring up the whole texting situation before disappearing back into the crowd of club-goers.

 

   “Why’d y’ tell him all of tha’?” Niall asked Liam, his arms crossing over his chest. “You saw how upset Lou was when the boy never called or anythin’!” Niall asked, clearly concerned about Louis.

 

   “Hey now, shh. I think Harry probably just got a little bit nervous or something, that’s all. Did you see them at the restaurant? They’re infatuated. I think it’s cute.” Liam told him with a small shrug, walking away to tend to a customer.

 

   Louis was pretty upset about the fact that he’d flirted with Harry and even left him his number and didn’t even get a single text from him. But a night at the club without having to work would definitely get his spirits up again in no time. At least, that’s what he had been hoping for when he came. New pair of vans, new shampoo, lots of confidence. Everything was going really well for about thirty minutes before he felt a huge hand land on his shoulder. When he turned around, towering over him wasn’t Liam and it definitely wasn’t Niall. This guy looked like some sort of club bouncer, but Louis was friends with all of the bouncers here and as far as he knew there wasn’t any new ones hired recently. “Hey, little cutie, you into bigger guys?” He asked, and Louis yanked his arm away. Instant creep vibey-vibes.

 

   “Uh-- no-- sorry,” He said quickly, ready to turn around when his arm was gripped again, and no one around them seemed to pay any attention or care at all since they just continued to dance.  “What the-- let go of me, you giant brute!” He hissed, trying to yank from his grip again. He was ready to throw down some more insults when a familiar voice rang out from behind him.

 

   “What do you think you’re doing, grabbing on my boyfriend?” The voice was calm, slow, deep, and in Louis honest opinion, sexy. He craned his neck around to look where the voice was coming from, surprised to see the curly haired boy he’d been hitting on since the moment he met him. “Let go,” Harry commanded, but the big guy didn’t seem to want to listen.

  
   “Boyfriend? Boyfriend!” Louis exclaimed, thankful that his appearance distracted the guy enough for him to loosen his grip. He yanked his arm free this time, hurrying over to Harry’s side and clinging to him. “Yeah, this is my boyfriend. So hands off me, mate,” he nodded, more than glad that Harry had showed up-- though, he was still upset that he didn’t get a text from him. 


End file.
